U and T visa psychological evaluations: similar symptoms, different questions

What does the U visa evaluation document?

Form I-918 is a petition for U nonimmigrant status. Among its requirements are qualifying criminal activity, substantial physical or mental abuse resulting from that activity, relevant information, and helpfulness to an authorized agency. The legal requirements also address where the activity occurred or which laws it violated. A clinical evaluation primarily contributes evidence about the resulting harm. USCIS I-918 instructions

“Substantial” is not a questionnaire category. USCIS considers the nature of the injury, the severity of the conduct and harm, its duration, and serious or lasting effects. No single factor is required or automatically sufficient. The rules also allow consideration of aggravation of a preexisting injury and a series of acts considered together. 8 CFR 214.14(b)(1)

Those factors call for a history with enough detail to describe change. An evaluation can ask about functioning before the reported events, what happened afterward, and what difficulties remain. If a person already had anxiety symptoms, the question includes whether and how those symptoms changed. An earlier condition should be assessed rather than omitted from the report.

The U substantial-abuse requirement is not an extreme-hardship test about future separation from a U.S. citizen relative. A report built around that relative's anticipated hardship would answer the wrong question for the principal U petition.

What does a T visa evaluation need to address differently?

Form I-914 is an application for T nonimmigrant status. The principal applicant must establish a severe form of trafficking in persons, qualifying physical presence on account of that trafficking, compliance with reasonable requests for assistance unless an exception applies, and extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm if removed. Admissibility or an available waiver is also part of eligibility. USCIS T eligibility guidance

A T referral may therefore contain several clinical questions. One concerns the psychological consequences of the reported trafficking. Another concerns how those consequences relate to the person's presence in the United States. A third looks forward to the clinical implications of removal. Counsel should identify which questions are relevant before the assessment is planned.

For the prospective question, the evaluation can examine current care, practical support, and the person's ability to function if circumstances change. It should specify what is known about treatment needs and what remains an assumption. Country conditions, the availability of particular services abroad, and legal access to them require supporting evidence; an evaluator should not infer that care is unavailable from the destination alone.

The hardship belongs to the T applicant. Family circumstances can matter through their effect on that person, but this is not the qualifying-relative model used for an I-601A waiver. USCIS also states that economic disadvantage or disrupted opportunities alone generally do not establish the T hardship standard. USCIS T hardship analysis

Are the law-enforcement requirements the same?

The two processes use different evidence rules. A U petition generally requires a properly executed Form I-918 Supplement B certification from an authorized official. A clinician's report does not replace it. For T applications, Form I-914 Supplement B can be evidence, but it is not mandatory. Counsel addresses the applicable assistance requirements and the evidence supporting them. U regulation, T assistance regulation

T rules include an age-based exception when at least one trafficking act occurred before the applicant turned 18, and a trauma exception for inability to cooperate with a reasonable request because of physical or psychological trauma. Clinical evidence may support the latter question when it explains the specific limitation and its basis. A diagnosis or a general reference to distress does not automatically establish the exception. USCIS T eligibility guidance

This is one reason the referral should name the issue. A report about present symptoms may not explain a person's ability to respond to a particular request at an earlier time. The dates, the request as documented, and the information available to the evaluator matter.

Can the same report be used for both matters?

A report may contain information relevant to more than one filing, but its suitability must be reviewed against each legal question. Trafficking is among the qualifying activities listed for U status, and an experience may require counsel to consider more than one form of relief. That overlap does not make the U and T evidentiary requirements interchangeable. USCIS I-918 instructions

A forensic psychological evaluation should state why it was requested, whom the clinician evaluated, which records were reviewed, and what the findings support. If the original assessment addressed harm following a crime, it may not contain the information needed for a T removal-hardship analysis. An addendum also needs a factual and clinical basis; changing the form number on the cover is not enough.

Symptoms alone cannot identify a qualifying crime or establish trafficking. The report should separate the person's description, observations, assessment results, and documentary information. Appropriate standardized measures can contribute to clinical assessment, but their scores do not prove causation, credibility, or eligibility.

When would an evaluation add useful evidence?

Neither principal filing has a universal requirement for a privately commissioned psychological evaluation. A report may help explain the severity, duration, or functional consequences of harm when those questions remain unresolved. Existing treatment records or other evidence may already address them. Counsel should identify the gap before asking a person to undergo another interview.

Safe communication, informed consent, and suitability for an interview also need attention. The scope should be clear before an engagement begins, particularly if counsel seeks an opinion about trauma-related inability to cooperate or future functioning after removal. A clinical report has limits even when the legal need is urgent.

Attorneys considering either a U visa evaluation or a T visa evaluation can use our attorney inquiry page to discuss the clinical question and case suitability before an engagement. We confirm whether the requested assessment is within our available scope before the client pays for the evaluation. The attorney remains the referral partner.

General information based on sources checked October 10, 2026. This article is not legal advice or a determination of eligibility. Consult your immigration attorney about the appropriate filing and evidence.